President Barack Obama has reason to celebrate after signing legislation to overhaul the nation's financial system. The set of new rules is one of the most sweeping transformations since the Great Depression. It adds new protections for consumers and risk-management regulations to keep the banking industry under control.

The new legislation was created in large part as a response to the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009.

"Because of this law, the American people will never be asked again to foot the bill for Wall Street's mistakes," Obama said. The president also cited the new regulations as "the strongest financial protections for consumers in the nation's history."

Of course, the Republicans don't agree, but they haven't expressed agreement with any major reforms proposed by President Obama. Republicans argue that the bill puts weight on small businesses and small banks. They also say that the bill will be costly to consumers, even though it was designed to help them. In fact, Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana and House Minority Leader John Boehner are calling for the law's repeal. They have also called for the repeal of Obama's health care plan. I think Republicans would simply like to repeal the last presidential election altogether.

Banks have up to two years to write most of the new laws into their policies. The president pushed for the reforms after public outrage over the $700 billion spent bailing out banks and Wall Street firms on the brink of failure. Regulators now have the authority to begin liquidation on large financial firms that are close to failing.

One of the more interesting parts of the act features a strong new consumer financial protection agency. The agency will be housed by the Federal Reserve and protect those who apply for credit.

The passing of this bill is a tremendous victory for President Obama. It helps our nation pursue a necessary shift toward consumer protection that had been lost during the deregulation of the Bush years. I am hopeful that Obama will follow up these measures with additional protections for workers and labor unions that lost a great deal of ground over the past 20 years.

One hope is that the laws were designed to truly help the financial system, and not the result of partisan efforts to implement regulations that are beneficial to campaign contributors. Additionally, too much regulation can be bad for a financial system working to remain competitive in a globalized economy. Much of the massive economic growth to which Americans have become accustomed is attributed to allowing for a relatively free and open market. We must learn that in order to gain, you must sometimes experience a little pain. But, in the end, what matters is balance.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce's commentary delivered to your e-mail, please click here.